Again. No student of history, or historian, looks at the present and anguishes, but merely compares. Go ahead, get it off your chest, these time are the worst ever, and perhaps attribute all this as signs of the impending apocalypse. Somewhere out there lurks the anti-Christ, destined to start whichever version of end times you use.
I prefer the one where the world just ends, and a new world is created. It fits within my belief system. If God gave me another 1000 years to clean my act up after the life I've led after 55 years, I'd just say, "Okay, starting in year 990 I will atone." This fits with how we achieve goals. "How much longer do I have?" So, I'm not inclined to read apocalyptic scripture the same way some do who come up with the 1000 year analysis (millennialism I believe).
As a student of history, I'm more inclined to think that we have managed to come back to a point much like the 1960s where there was chaos in our culture. Norms were being redefined, roles were being challenged. Toss in the early 1970s where the Arab states flexed their political muscle, and I think we have a similar point in our history. Yet absent in that era which we have now was one ingredient that gets us through such turmoil - the craft brew market.
We were just 40 years past the lifting of Prohibition and so there were only a few beer makers around with the accumulated wealth to start back up and produce and distribute beer. They dominated that era, and when you went to the store, your choices were Schlitz, Miller or Budweiser. We didn't even have the concept of lite beer yet and Coors was still a craft beer created in Colorado. Today, there is a myriad of beer choices to help you pull through the crises that we experience.
In the summer, we get some of the lighter varieties of beer that have a fruit added, namely the lemon, which creates a very good effect. Sam Adams Summer Ale, Leinenkugal's Summer Shandy, and Shock Top Lemon Shandy all hale an element of the lemon, or a derivative (lemonade). These are beers fit for summer with that taste, and these are ales that have not created a bitter aftertaste or a taste that can start to become bitter while enjoying perhaps a six-pack. They are my personal favorite of all seasonals with the lemon, but for beer drinkers looking for darkness or the bitterness of hops, these will not set well with you.
Just the other day, as I was listening to the news of the day, I went to the refrigerator and opened a Summer Shandy. Within minutes I completely forgot whatever the news was that upset me and found myself relaxing in the back yard with this in my hand. On Father's Day, I put some in the cooler along with my own concoctions (witbier with orange) and was able to put current events well out of mind and enjoy my family.
I highly recommend these as a change of pace and a way to enjoy a hot summer day. If you find the news bothering you, turn it off. Better, take a vacation from it, perhaps the entire summer. With that, a backyard smoker calls as I prepare the fatted calf for some friends for tomorrow, and yes, while out there, I will have some summer ales.
Enjoy and remember this simple truth, the more things change, the more they remain the same. Nothing is more noble than a fine ale and that IS the truth.
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